


I've Got Your Love to Keep Me Warm

by mythras_fire



Series: Friday Night Chats Plot-Bunny Factory [36]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Adoption, Alex Manes Deserves Nice Things, Alex Manes Loves Michael Guerin, Alex Manes Week 2020, Bilingual Michael Guerin, Canon Disabled Character, Christmas Presents, Drabble Collection, Drawble, Español | Spanish, Family Fluff, Fatherhood, Fosters Homestead Ranch, Found Family, Halloween Costumes, Lost Decade (Roswell New Mexico), M/M, Malex Week 2020, Michael Guerin Deserves Nice Things, Michael Guerin Loves Alex Manes, Michael Guerin Week 2020, Nebulous Well-Adjusted Future, Original Disabled Character, POV Walt Sanders, Soft Malex, Telekinesis, Walt Sanders is a Proud Grandpa, the song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24883924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythras_fire/pseuds/mythras_fire
Summary: A meandering tale of Michael, Alex, and their journey through the Lost Decade towards a future where they build a home for each other's hearts, spacious enough for a daughter, a beagle, and lots of shenanigans.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Series: Friday Night Chats Plot-Bunny Factory [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1292960
Comments: 270
Kudos: 100





	1. Baby Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Alex Manes Week 2020:_ For SaadieStuff 😊 I expanded those headcanons we were talking about into a 3+1 drabble set. Hope you like them!
> 
>  _Malex Week 2020:_ For bgn 😘 I expanded this story into a loose timeline of fourteen total drabble moments from their life together. They were super fun to write and I got to include a bunch of plot bunnies that have been hopping around in my head lately. Enjoy!
> 
>  _Michael Guerin Week 2020:_ For Tasyfa 🤠 my fellow Dreamer who decamped to Michael-land with me. Lots of Michael and Sanders being their lovely sarcastic selves in this batch. Enjoy!
> 
>  **Author's Note:** This story just keeps growing, one fandom event at a time 😁.
> 
>   * Chapters 1-14 take place post-canon in a nebulous well-adjusted future (posted for Alex Manes Week and Malex Week).
>   * Chapters 15-28 take place during the Lost Decade (posted for Michael Guerin Week).
> 

> 
> Disclaimer: all characters, quotes, and pop-culture references belong to their respective creators. Story title is adapted from the song "I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" by Irving Berlin.

“It’s just… yeah, no… th-thank you. I’ll tell him, he just, uh, just got home, so…”

“Tell me what?”

“K. Love you, too, bye.”

A waterfall of emotions cascaded over Alex’s face. Michael embraced him, twining their fingers, eyes hopeful.

“Michael, we’re going to be parents.”

“Parents?”

“To a little Cherokee girl.”

“Girl?”

“From the Reservation. My mom’s friend’s daughter.”

“Daughter?”

Alex giggled, “Is there an echo in here?”

Michael’s eyes danced as he spun Alex around. “We’re going to be parents!!”

Alex’s face fell. “She… she has a, um, limb reduction…”

“She’ll be ours. She’ll be loved.”

Alex cried.


	2. And Baby Makes Three

“Are you going to say hello, _tsunadadatlugi_?”

The little girl hid behind Mindy’s raven hair.

“She’ll come around,” Mindy reassured Michael, who looked awestruck.

Eyes like the _dark sacred night_ peeked out and a chubby little hand pointed at Michael’s curls.

“ _Etsi_.”

“Yes, your mama had curls just like those, Nora,” Mindy cooed.

“N-n-nora?”

“Yes, short for Eleanora.”

Michael looked at Alex with glassy eyes. Alex squeezed his hand.

“How did her parents…”

“They were volunteer firefighters on the reservation.”

“ _Doda_.”

“You look like her dad, Alex,” Mindy smiled.

Alex gave Nora a watery smile. Michael squeezed his hand back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Cherokee words used above came from [this](https://www.manataka.org/page123.html#CHEROKEE%20SOCIETY) website.  
>  _tsunadadatlugi_ \- sweetheart  
>  _etsi_ \- mama  
>  _doda_ \- papa (Nora says a variation of the full word, _edoda_ )
> 
>  _dark sacred night_ are lyrics from the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong


	3. Hush Little Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally posted during Alex Manes Week.

“You should go to bed, babe, you’re sleeping on your feet like a horse.”

“Have you been watching _Brokeback_ without me again?”

Michael mock-gasped, “I would never! I save all my ugly-crying for when I can wipe my nose on your sleeve.”

“Ugh, you’re worse than the baby. Almost done here.”

*

Alex had just curled into his big spoon when the baby started crying.

“Shhh, little one, we’ve got you,” Michael whispered.

The cradle across the bedroom started rocking gently and the crying petered out.

Alex’s vision went blurry with happy tears and he wiped his nose on Michael’s bicep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I tried doing some [research](https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html) but we're just going to pretend that I know what developmental milestones look like in children for this and all the other drabbles, shhhh 🤫)


	4. Rocking Chair Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally posted during Alex Manes Week.

“Again, Papi! Do it again!”

Michael was currently bouncing their baby daughter on his legs in the rocking chair next to the fireplace.

Alex was currently being a nervous wreck about it but was valiantly keeping his mouth shut.

“Nora’s got a pretty little button nose.

Nora’s got a pretty little button nose.

Nora’s got a pretty little button nose!

When she grows up she’ll have her doda’s toes.”

At the end of the song, Michael suddenly widened his stance and let her “fall” through.

Nora was currently giggling her little heart out at being cradled by her dad’s telekinesis.


	5. Uncovered Frailties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally posted during Alex Manes Week.

“Call Kyle! What if—”

“Pillow—”

“What if her fever keeps—”

“Blanket—”

"This's all my fault! Fuck. How do humans deal—”

“Lamp!” Alex ducked behind Michael as his telekinesis went haywire. “She just has a cold. Not your fault.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Not. Your. Fault.”

Michael whimpered anyway.

Alex hugged his husband from behind and whisper-sang into his curls,

“If I call off the battalion

Break my walls down stone by stone

Tear down my defenses

I could build your heart a home”

Listening to the cosmic love-letter Alex had written him changed his entropy and quieted his telekinesis.

"You're my home."


	6. Hidden Strengths

“How can you be so calm about this?” Michael clung to Alex’s side like an octopus.

Alex ran his hands through Michael’s curls. “Humans get sick. We also get better. You should ask Kyle about it. Invite him over to watch football.”

Michael made a grumbling sound of acquiescence; Alex chuckled.

“Are you sure it wasn’t from me letting her jump in those puddles?”

“Quite sure. It was the germ factory called preschool; that’s how we build up our immune systems.”

More grumbling. Alex changed tack.

“I’m cold, Cowboy.”

Michael slid over him. “Portable Space Heater at your service, Private.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wouldn't be a proper collection of Malex drabbles if they didn't call each other Cowboy and Private at least once 😉
> 
> Shoutout to AndreaLyn and her genius phrase "portable space heater" used at the end there 😘


	7. Safety Patrol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally posted during Alex Manes Week.

“He. Could. Go. All. The—”

“Touchdown Chiefs!!!”

“Take that, Brady!”

“Did your team get a basket, Kyle?” Alex asked oh-so-innocently.

Kyle’s jaw dropped. “Is this payback for the _Star Trek_ comment? That was five years ago, man.”

“Like nostalgia, payback’s a bi—”

“Language!” Alex glared at Michael. “Where’s Nora? She’s been Speedy Gonzales ever since you finished making her prosthesis.”

“Give the kid some space, Alex, she’s waited long enough to become independently mobile,” Kyle replied distractedly.

“You can be the one keeping her safe, then, _Uncle_ Kyle,” Alex raised The Eyebrow.

Kyle gulped as Michael smirked behind his beer.


	8. Baby and Beagle

“Cookie UnKyle?”

Kyle turned to watch Nora practice using her new prosthesis like a champ.

One hand was dragging her Stitch plush with a matching sewn-on prosthetic right leg, a birthday present from Mindy.

The other hand clutched a cookie that Trixie was nibbling on unbeknownst to Nora.

“No thanks, Pumpkin, you enjoy that one,” he tried to keep a straight face as he elbowed Michael in the ribs.

“Ow, what? I told you if they pressure Brady he’s shi— bad at passing...” Michael smiled when he saw Nora. “Awww.”

“Found her!” Kyle shouted towards the kitchen.

Alex looked unimpressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The words Uncle Kyle were too much for Nora's little mouth to spit out when she was learning his name, too many glottal stops, so she ran the two words together and he will be UnKyle to her forevermore.


	9. Spelling Bee Champ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Venesa 😊

“Leave.”

“L-e-a-v-e. Leave.”

“Come.”

“C-o-m-e. Come.”

“I’m just saying you don’t go to Parent/Teacher night with your undershirt showing, Michael!” 

“So sorry, I’m fresh out of cable-knit sweaters!”

Kyle looked up and snickered.

Nora squinted at her dads’ clothing, then turned to her UnKyle, “P-r-o-b-e-d. Probed.”

Kyle lost it.

“Papi, they spelled your shirt wrong.”

“They what?” 

Alex dragged Michael back into the bedroom.

“This's my favorite sweater! Your sister’s name is gonna be Mud.”

Michael palmed Alex’s sweater-clad pec, the faded words brightening under his warm touch. “She’s diabolical,” he whispered. “It’s embedded thermacolor.”

“Mud, I tell you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it's not obvious, the timeline starts to jump around a little bit because of how I chose to order these drabbles, so just know that Nora is older in some and younger in others.


	10. Parent/Teacher Night

“HI, Nora!”

“Hey, Jake.”

“That one of your... friends?” Alex asked warily of the boy making heart-eyes at his daughter.

_"¡HOLA, Nora!"_

_"Qué tal, Lucía."_

Nora shrugged, “I’m keeping my options open.”

Alex glared at Michael, who grinned sheepishly. “Kids these days! Ahahaha…”

“We’re going to have _words_ when we get home, Michael.”

“Mr. and Mr. Guerin! It’s nice to meet you.”

“That means Doda’s gonna talk, Papi’s gonna look sad, then they’ll go to bed and make noise.”

Alex’s eyebrow twitched.

Panicking, Michael turned to Nora, _"¿Dónde está tu escritorio? A ver, corazoncito."_

Mrs. Georggin feigned ignorance, snickering internally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael is often bilingual in my head canons so I can use my Spanish in fics <3
> 
> "¡HOLA, Nora!" - HI, Nora!  
> "Qué tal, Lucía." - Sup, Lucía.  
> "¿Dónde está tu escritorio? A ver, corazoncito." - Where's your desk? Let's go see it, Sweetpea [lit: little heart]


	11. Bedtime Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For annunziatina 🥰 wouldn't this make for a great GNM video, reading a story to us?

Alex had a bucket list: mostly things he’d always wanted to do with ~~and to~~ Michael.

Adopt a child? Check.

Pour heart and soul into raising child? Check.

Live vicariously through child’s rites of passage that he and Michael missed out on? In progress.

“Again?”

Nora nodded sleepily.

Michael began reading _The Goat in the Rug_ for the umpteenth time. 

She lay against Michael’s left side, Alex against his right in their bed.

Michael’s soft voice lulled them to sleep as he read about a real-life Navajo weaver who wove her friend into a mohair rug in Window Rock, Arizona.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Goat in the Rug](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/281205.The_Goat_in_the_Rug) is a wonderfully cute, informative, and best of all, true story if you want to take a look at it via this goodreads link.


	12. Hide and Go Seek

“5-4-3-2-1 ready or not, here I come!”

Nora giggled behind a rusted jalopy.

Alex achieved nirvana whenever he watched his husband entertain their daughter.

Sanders joined Alex around the fire pit. “Where’s the little whippersnapper?”

“Here I am, Grampa!” Nora waved.

Michael gave chase, Nora’s squeals music to Alex’s ears.

She climbed into Walt’s lap. “I win!”

Michael collapsed next to Alex, breathless.

“Did you wear your dad out again?”

She nodded.

“Good girl.”

“Hey!”

Alex chuckled. “Tell Grandpa your news, Peanut.”

“I won a race at school!”

“Congratulations, kiddo! I scream, you scream...”

They all screamed for ice cream.


	13. Doublespeak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🤟🏼Big thanks to MayGlenn and a1_kitkat for the betaing support and to bgn for supplying the list of phrases!

Michael was determined not to get blue-balls just because there was a toddler in the house.

Over dinner one night, he gave Alex his best bedroom eyes and drawled, “You up for some aggressive cuddling later, darlin’?”

Alex nearly choked on his water stifling his laughter.

Michael tried again. “How’s about after bedtime I release the Kraken?”

This attempt resulted in The Eyebrow and a smirk.

Michael retrieved the dangling bagel-on-a-string tied to Nora’s highchair.

“I bet you could field-strip my rifle in under thirty seconds.”

Alex’s wolfish grin was all the answer Michael needed.

He was getting lucky tonight.


	14. Pipe Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For context, this final drabble takes place backstage at the studio for the real-life TV show [Songland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songland), a songwriting competition series on NBC that showcases the musical talents of everyday songwriters in a very well-done, professional, meaningful manner. I highly recommend watching the series, there's no artifice or melodrama, and the sneak peak into the process of music producing is pretty fascinating <3.

“Wish me luck?”

“You don’t need it, babe,” Michael kissed him, pivoting so Nora could peck him on the cheek.

“Go get ‘em, tiger!” She quoted her UnKyle with well-practiced cheer.

Alex grinned at them both, took a deep breath, and walked onto the soundstage.

Michael watched as the love of his alien life sang the love-letter he’d written him six years ago for a panel of famous music producers.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Amber Run was the guest band; he knocked their fucking socks off.

Alex ran backstage afterward and straight into Michael’s arms.

Joyous.


	15. Who Says Junkyard Dogs Can't Be Guardian Angels?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're skipping back in time starting with this chapter for Michael Guerin Week and looking in on Michael from senior year of highschool on from Sanders' POV. Time will move forward in a linear manner during the Lost Decade but I'm not pinpointing specific time periods so you can decide for yourself how much time passes in between chapters.

Walt Sanders had known adoption was a pipe dream, settled for being a gruff guardian angel instead. He’d make Miss Nora proud yet.

He offered her son his couch, hot meals, and canine companionship in exchange for honest work; a square business deal for a kid already used to paying his own way.

Close to graduation, Michael started spending nights in a classmate’s backyard shed. _He’s just a friend._ His blush said otherwise.

That friend was the youngest Manes boy. The emo-punk kid Sergeant Douchebag was ashamed to call his son. The one currently necking with Nora’s son out back.


	16. Sometimes it's the Old Dog who Teaches the Puppy a New Trick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to MayGlenn ♥ for supplying Sanders' snarky retort after Michael's equally snarky reply!

“You’re gonna fall on your ass and I’m gonna laugh my head off.”

“Your confidence in me is overwhelming.”

Sanders rounded a dusty old Airstream to find Alex supporting a wobbly Michael.

“Where’d you find my rollerskates?”

“Under that pile of junk,” Michael pointed.

“Shit, what happened to your hand?”

Michael looked shifty. “ _Chupacabras_. What happened to your eye?”

Sanders smirked. “ _La Llorona_. Seriously, kid, you should get that checked.”

“See, I told you!” Alex whisper-yelled right before Michael lost his balance, taking them both down.

“Listen to your boy,” Sanders rolled his eye, leaving them in a blushing heap.


	17. Sometimes the Smallest Kindness Carries the Biggest Impact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to haloud ♥ for supplying Sanders' eye-rolling comment!

“You’re moping.”

“I’m Fine.”

“And my eye rolled right outta my head one day dealing with a smart-mouthed kid.”

Michael glared. “He-he’s… leaving.”

“So go with him.”

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“He _enlisted_ ,” Michael practically spat out the word.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“Tha-that’s rough, kid… Mope all you want.”

Michael’s sniffle turned into a watery chuckle.

***

“Is... Michael here?”

“In the clink,” Sanders sighed.

“O-o-okay,” Alex looked heart-broken. “Sorry to bother you, sir.”

“Hey, emo kid, do I look like your pissant father?”

“...no?”

“Then call me Sanders. Take my card. Send your letters here, k?”

“Thank you, si-Sanders. I will.”


	18. Surround Yourself with People Who Will Lift You Up and Cats that Will Keep You Grounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More thanks to MayGlenn and haloud because I was having fun asking them to bounce Sanders' sarcasm off of Michael's snarky one-liners ♥

“Sanders, why’s there a cat in the junkyard?” 

Michael was warily regarding Reggie bathing on the workbench, blithely ignoring them.

“I ain’t payin’ you to ask questions!” Sanders barked. “Reggie’s better company than most humans, just leave him be.”

“Reggie?”

Sanders glared.

“Would that be short for Reginald?” Michael snarked.

“Yeah. Gonna take your job if you don’t stop asking questions. Do it better, too.”

“Hey, I do a good job!”

“Scared of the cat, are we?”

“Wha-no...”

“You’ll be fine. He’s an old softy.”

“Just like you?”

“Don’t push it, kid. Get to work.”

Michael smiled softly, “Ok, boss.”


	19. One Good Turn Deserves Another

“What else you got, Sanders?”

“You finish the Kandinsky job?”

“Yesterday.”

“Ventura?”

“Pff, last week.”

“That guy who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Bean?”

“Who?”

Sanders chuckled. “Nevermind. Flooded carburetor.”

“First thing this morning. C’mon, Sanders, give me a challenge!”

“Okay, hotshot, you think you’re such a good mechanic—”

“You _know_ I am.”

“—betcha can’t fix up that good-fer-nothin’ silver twinkie over there.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“You tell me.”

Michael cackled like a mad scientist. “Yes! Now we’re talkin’.”

“ _After_ work, genius. This place doesn’t clean itself up.”

Michael snickered. “No, it sure as hell does not.”

“Smartass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanders' Mr. Bean quip is a reference to [a video clip](https://youtu.be/W4rtGPCsoXA) I watched this week on YouTube of the wonderful Rowan Atkinson ♥
> 
> I was having fun naming characters (and cats in the previous chapter lol) after people both real and imagined off the top of my head, hence we have the Russian-French abstract art pioneer Wassily Kandinsky, the adorkable pet detective Ace Ventura, and the inimitable Mr. Bean.


	20. No Man Is an Island, Entire of Itself

Sanders knew Michael had hit paydirt when he heard a loud CLANG followed by a string of curses.

“Uhh, did you know there was a bunker underneath that Airstream?”

“Do I look like I was born yesterday?”

“If yesterday was the eighteen—”

“Hatch might even still be operational.”

“Yeah? Alright if I take a peek inside?”

“Sure. Might come in handy ‘case that _chupacabras_ ever comes back.”

Michael paled. “Wh-why do you say that?”

Sanders gave him a sympathetic look. “Just thought you might like having your own space. Private. Secure.”

“Th-thanks, man.”

“After wo—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: the title of this chapter is a well-known idiomatic phrase, but did you know that it comes from the same poem that gave us 'for whom the bell tolls'? I certainly did not. [Here's the full 12-line poem](https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/no-man-is-an-island.html) and a nice little explanation for the first phrase with a link to an explanation of the second phrase. 
> 
> I thought of this phrase for the title of this chapter because Sanders doesn't want Michael to ever feel like he's all alone here, so he tries to do little things for him that show he always has a place at the junkyard to call home; even if he knows it's not what Michael really wants: to find his parents and go home; even if he never talks about it with Sanders.


	21. Keeping a Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have posted these two chapters yesterday but I got distracted watching football all day 😅 so you get a doubleheader today.
> 
> I am tickled pink by how much you guys liked GuardianAngel!Sanders in this story, thanks for all the lovely, funny, and sweet comments! I'm sure I'll be adding more fun times with him in the future 🥰

Sanders knocked on the door of the newly restored Airstream.

“Come in.”

He dropped a letter on the kid’s chest where he was reading underneath the cat, who had apparently declared him in need of constant cuddling.

“What’s this?”

“Mail call.”

He watched Michael read the return address, saw how his bad hand seized up, almost dropping it on Reggie’s head.

“Wha-how-whe-what?”

“Gee, no wonder that boy’s ass-over-teakettle for you, such eloquence.”

“H-h-he wrote to you?”

“To _you_ , kid. I’m just the mailman.”

“Thank you,” Michael looked on the verge of tears.

“You’re welcome.”

Yes, Miss Nora would be proud.


	22. Retracing His Steps, Striking Out Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV Change!
> 
> Michael is bilingual in my headcanons whenever I can manage it ♥ translations will be in the End Notes :)

Michael couldn’t quite believe he started today as a ranch-hand at Fosters Homestead Ranch. The same place he used to wait for his parents to come get him. Take him home.

He’d promised Sanders he’d buy the Airstream off him fair and square so he got a second job. This way he could go artifact-hunting and stash the finds in his bunker.

He made some extra cash selling copper wire under the table but he kept careful count because he was gonna pay Sanders back one day.

“Bienvenido al rancho, Señor Guerin.” 

“Gracias, Señor Del Río. El placer es mío.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bienvenido al rancho, Señor Guerin - Welcome to the ranch, Mr. Guerin
> 
> Gracias, Señor Del Río, el placer es mío - Thank you, Mr. Del Río, the pleasure is mine/nice to meet you


	23. How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun

Whoever said crying is cathartic was a lying liar who lies.

One of Alex’s letters came with lyrics to a song that was ‘played, ON REPEAT, Guerin, the whole “Mirrorball” album, because my squadron is full of 90’s kids aggggghhhh.’

Michael chuckled at Alex’s non-emo-music woes until he read the lyrics…

> I will remember you, will you remember me?  
>  Don’t let your life pass you by  
>  Weep not for the memories  
>  …  
>  It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word  
>  …  
>  You gave me everything you had  
>  Oh you gave me life

“¿Por qué llora, don Miguel?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¿Por qué llora, don Miguel? - Why are you crying, Mr. Michael? (the boy is using the polite 3rd person form to address Michael)
> 
> Chapter title comes from the following song.
> 
> I Will Remember You - Sarah McLachlan
> 
> I will remember you  
> Will you remember me?  
> Don't let your life pass you by  
> Weep not for the memories
> 
> Remember the good times that we had?  
> I let them slip away from us when things got bad  
> How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun  
> Wanna feel your warmth upon me  
> I wanna be the one
> 
> I will remember you  
> Will you remember me?  
> Don't let your life pass you by  
> Weep not for the memories
> 
> I'm so tired, but I can't sleep  
> Standin' on the edge of something much too deep  
> It's funny how we feel so much, but we cannot say a word  
> We are screaming inside, oh, we can't be heard
> 
> That I will remember you  
> Will you remember me?  
> Don't let your life pass you by  
> Weep not for the memories
> 
> So afraid to love you  
> But more afraid to lose  
> Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose  
> Where once there was a darkness  
> A deep and endless night  
> You gave me everything you had, oh, you gave me life
> 
> And I will remember you  
> Will you remember me?  
> Don't let your life pass you by  
> Weep not for the memories
> 
> And I will remember you  
> Will you remember me?  
> Don't let your life pass you by  
> Weep not for the memories
> 
> Weep not for the memories


	24. Hope for the Best, Work for the Rest

Michael looked up from where he’d been reading Alex’s letter, slipping it inside his _Agronomy for Sustainable Agriculture_ textbook. 

“Hola, Ángel, ¿qué tal, muchacho?” He sniffled.

“¿Ha recibido malas noticias de su novia?”

“No.”

“¿Novio?”

“Nunca sabré,” Michael sighed.

The foreman’s son furrowed his tiny brow, wheeling closer to Michael’s makeshift office in the barn.

“No sea triste, señor, y nunca diga nunca. No se sabe cuándo los dos podrían reunirse.”

“Qué sabio eres.”

Ángel preened. “Siempre dice eso Fievel!”

“Tu amiguito?”

“No, ¡es un ratón de mi película favorita! ¿Quiere mirarla conmigo?”

“Claro que sí,” Michael smiled.

“¡Vámonos ya!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title comes from the song "Never Say Never" from the 1986 animated movie _An American Tail_ ♥
> 
> (I just went ahead and translated the whole thing since there were more than a few lines of Spanish in this one ;) )
> 
> Michael looked up from where he’d been reading Alex’s letter, slipping it inside his _Agronomy for Sustainable Agriculture_ textbook. 
> 
> "Hey, Ángel, what's up, buddy?" He sniffled.
> 
> “Did you get bad news from your girlfriend?”
> 
> “No.”
> 
> “Boyfriend?”
> 
> “I'll never know,” Michael sighed.
> 
> The foreman’s son furrowed his tiny brow, wheeling closer to Michael’s makeshift office in the barn.
> 
> “Don't be sad, mister, and never say never. Nobody knows when you two might get back together.”
> 
> “Lookit you being all wise.”
> 
> Ángel preened. “That's what Fievel always says!”
> 
> “Your [little] friend?”
> 
> “No, he's a mouse from my favorite movie! Do you want to watch it with me?”
> 
> “Sure thing,” Michael smiled.
> 
> “Ok, let's go then!”


	25. An Alien Tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry, annunziatina 😘

Michael was NOT prepared for _An American Tail_.

He was even LESS prepared for “Somewhere Out There”.

> And even though I know how very far apart we are
> 
> It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

Feelings about his parents, Isobel, Max, and Alex all swirled around the vortex inside his head.

 _“¿Está bien?”_ Ángel looked worried.

“Practice your English!” called doña Lucía. “Go wash up for dinner, boys!”

Michael wiped his eyes, “M’fine.”

“You no like?”

“It’s my new favorite.”

“Then why you cry?”

“Sometimes love hurts.”

“Grown-ups are estrange.”

Michael sighed. “True that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¿Está bien? - Are you okay?
> 
> Somewhere Out There - _An American Tail_
> 
> Somewhere out there  
> Beneath the pale moonlight  
> Someone's thinking of me  
> And loving me tonight
> 
> Somewhere out there  
> Someone's saying a prayer  
> That we'll find one another  
> In that big somewhere out there
> 
> And even though I know how very far apart we are  
> It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star
> 
> And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby  
> It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky
> 
> Somewhere out there  
> If love can see us through  
> Then we'll be together  
> Somewhere out there  
> Out where dreams come true


	26. Daydreaming

“You’re so good to him. How is it you’ve never worked with children?” doña Lucía asked.

Michael blushed as they watched Ángel gleefully speed up and down the new greenhouse ramp Michael built for his birthday so he could join his dad at work.

“Never got the chance. But I’d love to, uh, have kids someday. Ma-maybe a ranch like this. A family…” Michael trailed off as he grew self-conscious.

“That sounds like a beautiful plan, _chiquillo_ ,” doña Lucía squeezed his arm.

Michael felt warmed from the inside out. 

_If love can see us through  
Then we'll be together_

“Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chiquillo - youth, kid, young man, as a term of endearment


	27. Of Telekinesis and Flying Saucers

_“¡Buenas noches, Miguelito!”_

_“¡Buenas noches, don Romero!”_ Michael ambled over to his truck and checked his supplies. He could go artifact-hunting tonight thanks to the full moon. 

He’d been practicing his TK and was now pretty good at sending up a dust cloud that refracted moonlight to simulate ground fog so he could wander around the desert at night incognito.

Michael had already “borrowed” all the legit alien artifacts from Grant Green’s UFO Emporium over the last several years.

A few times, he’d literally stumbled over a half-buried fragment of what he was sure was a spaceship.

His ticket home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¡Buenas noches, Miguelito! - Good night, [little] Michael! 
> 
> ¡Buenas noches, don Romero! - Good night, Mr. Romero!


	28. Love Is What You Make of It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV Change!

_“¡Perdóname, señor, no se los vi!”_ Ángel shrieked when he rolled up on don Miguel in the arms of a handsome man in fatigues in the barn office. _“No vi nada, se lo juro—”_

“Whoa, buddy, _está bien, ¡ven!”_ don Miguel was... grinning?

Ángel wheeled over, shyly curious.

“Let me introduce you. Alex, this is Ángel, my ranch compadre.”

“Nice to meet you, Ángel.”

 _“Ustéd es— digo—_ you’re de man from ’is letters…” he said, awestruck.

Alex smiled sweetly, still holding don Miguel around the waist.

_“Y ustéd?”_

“Now I know,” he replied, gazing at Alex, who gazed right back.

♥ ♥ ♥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¡Perdóname, señor, no se los vi! - Forgive me, sir, I didn't see you [plural]!
> 
> No vi nada, se lo juro— - I didn't see anything, I swear—
> 
> está bien, ¡ven! - it's okay, c'mere!
> 
> Ustéd es— digo— - You [polite] are— I mean—
> 
> Y ustéd? - And you [polite]? -- this phrase can be used in a more abstract way to say "and now?" in the way that Ángel is calling back to a conversation they had in the past regarding the letters and Michael not knowing if Alex would ever be his boyfriend.


	29. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanders is back ♥ 
> 
> We’re back to the future (aka post S2) for the next four chapters, all from Sanders' POV, as he gets to create some new traditions with his found family. Enjoy the fluff!

Walt Sanders never thought he’d get to be a dad until Michael Guerin had come to the junkyard looking for work. That space kid was a boon in his otherwise lackluster life.

But being a grandpa? Forget it. For one thing, alien males couldn’t get pregnant, but damned if Sanders hadn’t walked in on Michael and Alex trying real hard a time or two.

So the day they placed their newly adopted daughter in his arms and said, “Say hi to Nora, Gramps,” he completely lost his shit.

“Hi lil’ Nora,” he cooed, ignoring the snickering from the peanut gallery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title for this and the following three chapters are all lyrics from the country-pop standard [“You Are My Sunshine”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_My_Sunshine). And in this edition of "There's More to that Song/Poem/Story than I Ever Imagined", there are three more verses to this song and they're rather bittersweet, which is in keeping with the genre of country music (in my humble opinion). And there is also no real agreement over who penned the original song because those things were often a little murky in pre-1940's music, as I've discovered from looking into the histories of other old songs on Wikipedia. Here is the [recording](https://youtu.be/NmrAYWTZnpE) of the first attested version performed by The Pine Ridge Boys in 1939.


	30. You make me happy when skies are grey

Sanders had a new lease on life after Nora’s arrival. He wanted to be here for her as long as possible, so this old junkyard dog learned a few new tricks. 

Drank less, ate better, even purchased some softer clothes to wear when he babysat for them on date night.

“Try to actually make it to the restaurant this time before you jump each other,” Sanders snarked as he sat down with Nora, “She eats better and more often than you two.”

A blushing Alex pushed an indignant Michael out the door as he began reading “Green Eggs and Ham”.


	31. You’ll never know dear how much I love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Belated Halloween! I would've posted these chapters yesterday but I spent the entire day drawing several of Nora's costumes, which was super fun! I got a new drawing app for my phone and a stylus pen recently and have discovered the joy of vector brushes and all the layers your drawing could ever need 😋

Lil’ Nora was a Halloween baby, which was secretly Sanders’ favorite holiday because it reminded him of Miss Nora and Miss Louise. 

Sanders lost no time dressing her up in the cutest costume he could find each year. 

At two, she was a pumpkin.

At three, a ghost.

At four, a black cat.

At five, she went as Captain Hook and Sanders as Smee.

At six, she wanted to be E.T. Alex almost fell off his chair laughing when she told Michael he should be Gertie because of his curls. 

Sanders got to be Elliott so he was happy.


	32. Please don’t take my sunshine away

When Nora turned seven, she asked Sanders if the whole family could dress up for Halloween. Typically, she and Sanders would dress up and go trick-or-treating while Michael and Alex meandered after them hand-in-hand.

He was in charge of holding her Jack-o-Lantern and thus ran “quality control” on all the best candies, slapping down Michael’s attempts to TK the Snickers and Butterfingers from the tub.

So that year, they all went as _Star Wars_ characters. Except for Valenti, the idiot doctor who showed up as a red shirt from _Star Trek_.

“UnKyle, that’s the wrong show!”

Alex looked so proud.


	33. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, SaadieStuff! Thanks again for the prompt idea for this series, I've had such a good time adding to it these past six months. Please enjoy some Christmas fluff 🎄🎁
> 
> Rosa's drawing is courtesy of the lovely and talented lychee_jelly. Nora's drawing is courtesy of yours truly, whose drawing skills are growing in leaps and bounds, I know, thanks for asking 😜.
> 
> Oh yeah, and this chapter takes place when Lil' Nora is six years old. POV Alex because I think it's been a while and he's such a proud papa, I thought we could enjoy some Christmastime scenes through his eyes. I'd like to post a few more in the near future that touch on other Christmas scenes but it'll just be this one for today.

“¡Feliz Navidad, preciosita!”

“¡Gracias, tía Rosa!”

Alex was all smiles holding Nora in his lap as everyone exchanged Christmas presents. Colored pencils and drawing pad for Nora; a handmade-turquoise-inlaid belt buckle for Michael; a guitar pick punch-kit (cuz Nora absconds with them) for him.

“Merry Christmas, Grampa!” Nora proclaimed, shoving a drawing in Sanders’ face half-an-hour later.

“Well, I see where she gets her drawing skills,” Sanders snarked in Michael’s direction.

“Dayu—that’s right!” Rosa smirked as she finished her own drawing.

“Hey, I can draw,” Michael grumbled beside Alex.

“‘Course you can, sweetheart.”

“Just not as well,” Sanders teased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “¡Feliz Navidad, preciosita!” - Merry Christmas, doll/beautiful!
> 
> “¡Gracias, tía Rosa!” - Thanks, Aunt Rosa!
> 
> Chapter title is from the eponymous song popularized by Frank Sinatra


End file.
